Not That Different
by Mattitude
Summary: Lauren loved Mike, but was it enough? "Now he could hardly argue with her pure and simple logic, but logic never could convince a heart" .. One Shot Song-Fic to the song by Collin Raye. MIZ/OC


**Authors Note: Seriously, Miz on the brain! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.**

**Also, thanks Lo for totally letting me steal you for this, even if you have no idea who "The Miz" is and Mike only looks "vaguely familiar" ;) Heheh you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "The Miz" or his adorable purple faux-hawk. I also don't own Lauren, as my name is not TJ Heezy.**

**Lyrics from "Not That Different" by Collin Raye  
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**Not That Different**

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They had been drifting apart, that much was obvious to anyone. It wasn't even that they argued all the time anymore, they just barely spoke, going in and out of each others lives as the days progressed. Lauren used to count down the days until he came home, make extravagant dinners and plans upon plans to fill the time; now she was lucky if she saw him a few hours of the two or three days before he went back on the road.

She didn't know what had changed exactly. She still loved Mike with everything she had, still saw him as all her dreams come true, her meant to be. She wondered when he stopped seeing her the same way. Was it something she did, something she stopped doing? Or was it him? When they'd met he'd been a starry-eyed teenager, a heart so full of dreams she couldn't believe there was room in it for her. But there had been, once .. maybe there just wasn't anymore.

Still, she wasn't giving up without a fight. There had been love there once, and for her there still was, and she refused to believe that it had all gone away for him too. She vowed to talk to him as soon as he came home, to work it out and go back to how they'd been before .. no, better than they'd been before.

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_He said "We're much too different, we're from two separate worlds,"_

_and she admitted he was partly right_

_But in her hearts defense she told him what they had in common_

_was strong enough to bond them for life_

_She said "Look behind your own soul and the person that you'll see_

_Just might remind you of me .._

_"I laugh, I love, I hope, I try_

_I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry_

_And I know you do the same things too_

_So we're really not that different,_

_Me and you."_

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"I don't get what the problem is Lauren. I'm here, aren't I?" Mike pulled a beer out of the fridge and opened it, grabbing the pile of mail waiting for him on the counter and beginning to rifle through it.

"Physically," Lauren murmured, before sighing. "I just wish things were the way they used to be, you know? When you actually seemed happy to be home."

Mike shook his head in frustration, tossing a pile of mail into the trash. "It's not the way it used to be. I'm not some jobber anymore or some reality show cast-off who nobody takes seriously. I'm the United States Champion, I've got an awesome push going right now .."

"That's your JOB Michael, that's not who you ARE. You're the guy who gets excited when his favorite song comes on the radio, the guy who dressed up as a Pokemon trainer for 2 Halloweens in a row, the guy who wakes up throughout the night to flip his pillow to the cool side."

"Maybe that's who I used to be."

"You couldn't have changed THAT much."

"What if I did? What if I'm not that guy anymore?"

Lauren shook her head. "I don't believe that. I know you've changed, your lifestyle has changed, but that doesn't mean we've changed, or what we have has to change."

"What if it does? You want me to be this guy who is happy to just sit at home and watch movies and talk about how our day was? Well my day involved 15,000 people watching my every move, getting dropped on my head so hard I saw double for hours, and then being stuck on an airplane behind a screaming kid just so I could come home and hear this. How was your day Lauren?"

His tone made Lauren step back in surprise and hurt. "That's not fair .. I've always tried to be supportive, you wanted this life Mike, this is what you dreamed of and .."

He held up his hands in submission. "You're right Lauren, you're exactly right. This is what I've always wanted, I am living my dream. And I'm sorry it doesn't fit into yours anymore, but that's how it is and we can't keep pretending this, whatever this is, is working when clearly it's not."

Lauren choked back the emotion she felt rising, not believing what he was saying. Was this it? Was it all over? This wasn't how it was supposed to be, they were supposed to fix it and be together forever.

"Is that .. is that really what you want? You don't want to make this work?"

Mike looked at her sadly, taking a step toward her. He put a hand on her arm gently. "I just don't see how it can .. we're just too different."

"But we're not," Lauren said quietly, shaking her head in disbelief as the tears she tried to fight back began to surface. "I laugh with you, I love you, I hope for you, I try for you .. and I know you do the same things .."

"I can't argue with that .. but it's just not enough. I'm sorry." He leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead, one last kiss to say goodbye.

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_Now he could hardly argue with her pure and simple logic_

_But logic never could convince a heart_

_He had always dreamed of loving someone more exotic_

_And she just didn't seem to fit the part_

_So he searched for greener pastures but never could forget_

_What she whispered when he left.._

_"I laugh, I love, I hope, I try_

_I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry_

_And I know you do the same things too_

_So we're really not that different,_

_Me and you."_

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He stretched his arms over his head, rolling over to grab his cellphone off the nightstand and check the time and his messages. 1:48 am .. a few random texts, no missed calls or voice mails. His brain automatically went through the same routine it did every morning .. 317 days since he'd seen Lauren, 317 days since he'd spoken to Lauren, 317 days since he'd broken her heart. Almost a year .. it was nearly impossible to imagine, the woman who had been such a large part of his life for years was no longer in it at all.

It was his own fault, he knew. He'd gotten so wrapped up in the lifestyle .. the traveling, the fame, the cheering crowds .. the ring-rats. Women who wore next to nothing of every shape, size, and color, willing and waiting to do whatever he wanted them to do.

The sad part was that after 317 days, none of that amounted to anything. They only wanted him because of what he was .. a professional wrestler, a celebrity, "The Miz". Lauren had loved him for who he was, Michael, the geeky kid who got lucky enough to do what he'd dreamed about since he was 8 years old.

He flipped his pillow over to the cool side and pulled the blankets over his head, trying to stop the thoughts that raced, trying to silence the voice that he'd heard every time he closed his eyes for the past 317 days. Lauren's voice, telling him everything they had in common, willing him to see a way to work it out when all he'd seen were all the differences.

He saw it now. He saw what he wanted .. what he needed.

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_Was it time? Or was it truth?_

_Maybe both led him back to her door_

_And as his tears fell at her feet_

_He didn't say "I love you",_

_What he said meant even more .._

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The last person Lauren expected to see standing at her front door was Michael Mizanin. And yet there he was, his hands shoved in the pockets of his old jeans, a black hoodie zipped up across his chest, his head ducked down.

"Mike?" She knew it was him of course, no one else would have that so silly it was adorable purple dyed faux-hawk or bright pink cheeks, no one else would be standing at her front door at 4 in the morning.

"Hey," he said quietly, lifting his head to reveal red rimmed eyes that were already welling up.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Lauren stepped out onto the porch quickly, concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"No," Mike said, shaking his head. "I haven't been okay in three-hundred and seventeen days Lauren."

"I don't .." Lauren started, looking at him in confusion, but Mike interrupted her.

"You remember what you said to me before I left? You said that we weren't different, because you still laughed with me and you still loved me and you still hoped for me and tried for me .. and I know I said that wasn't enough Lauren, but I was wrong, we're not too different. Because for the past 317 days all I've done is hurt for you, and need you, and fear that I've lost you."

Lauren tilted her head to look at him quizzically.

"Are you crying?" She asked quietly, teasing him.

"No." He ducked his head again

"Yes you are, you're crying."

"No I'm not." He sniffled, and she put a hand under his chin to lift his face to hers. "You're crying?"

She nodded, smiling.

Mike grabbed Lauren's face between his hands and kissed her softly, resting his forehead against hers.

"Not that different," she whispered as he pulled her into his arms.

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_"I laugh, I love, I hope, I try_

_I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry_

_And I know you do the same things too_

_So we're really not that different,_

_No we're really not that different,_

_Me and you."_

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**Awwww.**_  
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